The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-08-27
CHANGED NEW ENGLAND.
Strange Faces and Strange Tongues
in the Streets of Old Newburyport.
INewhnrynort Herald.l

lNeWDuryport Herald.
1t would scarcely be expected that an old
town like this, having had in the past
fifty years so little to attract new popu
lation would change much 1t would
be natural that people should die, but
as the population in nearly forty years was
virtually stationary, under one census gain
ing and under another losing, many might
think that it was the natural flow and ebb
from the same stock. Not so the old stock
has been emigrating or otherwise disappear
ing, and new stock has been coming in, till
about one-half of the people are what we
term foreign-that is, born abroad or the
immediate descendants Of such citizens, till
there are very few of the old towns so diver
sifed by race, color, language and religion.
Never was there time when the mixture
was so great or the purtanic element so
small.
Today all the continents, and perhaps all
the civilized nations, except those of South,
or Spanish America, have representatives
in this little city with population not ex-
ceeding $4,000. South Europe has contrib
uted Portuguese, Spanish and Italians; Cen
trail Europe, Germans, Austrians and French
Northern Europe, Swedes, Norwegians and
Danes; in our streets the Russians and
Poles are side by side; and from English,
French, Welch and Scotch. 1t may be pos
sible that Swiss and Turks are here; but
those are the only Municipalities whose repre-
sentatiyes cannot easily be found. The
Swiss, like all mountaineers, love their hills
and valleys, and being free and self-govern-
ing, come not here in search of liberty. The
Turks may have learned from our anti-Mor-
mon legislature that this is no refuge for
them; that in America they cannot do as
the Turks do" Looking to Africa. we find
her sons and daughters enjoying our hospi-
tality and making good citizens. They APP
pear in all colors, from the pure black to the
beautiful olive. They are Of all religions,
from the stately Catholic to the shouting
Methodist. They come to us from the West
Indies, from the savannahs of Georgia. the
rice fields of the Carolinas, and the valley of
the Mississippi. Then, Of Asiatic origin, we
have the Jew, whose blood has run pure
from the ages before the flood-the universal
nation among all nations, winning wealth
and power and fame wherever they are
found; also the representatives, Of that
church which claims to have lived before our
date of the creation; and there are at least
four persons here born in Japan, and using
only the language of the 'Japs," though not
of their blood. From countries near us we
have resident and citizens from all the prov
inces of British America east of Lake Supe-
riOr and from several of the West India
Islands, and we believe there is one person
born on the stormy, rocky shores of Labra-
dor.
Now this is no fancy sketch; it cal be YER
ihed by the living persons. Some of these
distinct races or nationalities constitute no
small proportion of our people. The Irish
are set, by those who have the best means of
knowing, at about 1000, which is more than
quarter of the whole. They stand first nu-
merically, though not gaining so rapidly of
late. Next come the French Canadians, who
are so numerous between the Victoria and
Peabody mills, on Water street. or near by
that old historic section, where lived the
Bartletts, Princes, Johnsons, Greenleafs,
Coombses-the first families of the old town
in the last century and the early part of
this century that section where were the fa-
nous shlpyards, among whose workers were
the tea burners, and by whom independence
was adopted before Massachusetts OF Vir-
ginia dared to name it aloud, and which lat
er was the seat of vast commerce with the
Indies-eyen that old historic and patriotic
section is now called "New France and in
more than a score of houses-hives of swarm
ing humanity, no other than the French Ian
guage is used, except one single sentence
which they can all distinctly and correctly
pronounce-"l don't understand" Much
can be said in favor of these people. The
men are industrious and the women frugal
the boys are respectful and polite, and the
girls generally of fine forms, luXuriant black
hair and eyes of the same color, are very at
tractve
1t would exceed the limits of our space to
go over each people separately. We name
the largest except those from the British
Provinces, who are so near TO our native
stock that they cannot be distinguished.
Gradually the changes are taking place to-
day: and tomorrow, in their children, they
will all be Americans-the people to rule a
continent and give Acknowledgment
ment, to a world.